Procrastination

Some days I really struggle to get anything done. Sometimes it's tiredness after a disturbed night with one of the boys, sometimes it's due to the miserable weather, but other times it's just due to general lethargy.

I am a big list-maker, and cannot get anything done without making a list first. I find it keeps everything straight in my mind, enabling me to prioritise all the mundane tasks that inevitably fill my days (emptying the dishwasher, put washing on, put ironing away, tidy toys/shoes/coats/post, food shopping etc etc).

But some days, even the lists fail me. I look down the list, and just can't bring myself to do anything on it. There will always be one or two things on there that get bumped day after day, as I just don't want to do them, but when the whole list gets bumped, I know I'm having one of those funny lethargic, procrastinating, WILFing days. And I know that we're all guilty of a bit of procrastination.

Sums up Procrastination for me nicely!

Much like today really! I feel pretty exhaustipated today (my new favourite word - too tired to give a sh*t!). Hayfever has kicked in majorly this week, and wipes me out. So at least I have sneezy, runny, nose and sore, itchy eyes and general tiredness to blame today!

Although I have ticked a few things off my list today, so it's not as bad as it could be!

A lot of my lack of enthusiasm for getting things done stems down to lack of time. I am constantly watching the clock. Wednesdays and Fridays, G is as nursery in the morning as well as W being at school. So although I have a couple of child-free hours in the morning, the rest of the day is spent clock-watching and dashing off to do pick-ups.

So I look at my list and think "there's not time to do that" and instead just WILF around the house but don't actually get much done. Things like gardening that require a change of clothes and getting dirty, always seem to get left, as I tend to think there's no point getting changed for an hour and then have to put everything away, come in, get washed and changed to go and do school pick-up.

I am a firm believer that you have to be in the right frame of mind to do certain tasks, and if you're not, then there is just no point. I can beleive in this way of thinking, as I know that my mindset will change very soon - my lethargy is generally short-lived. I am not like some people I know (who shall remain nameless!) who seem to be endlessly waiting for the day when they are suddenly galvansied into action to sort their lives out, but in the meantime let the years slide by doing nothing, filling those close to them with endless disappointment.

I have a house-related bucket-list as long as my arm, but I know that one day (in the not too distant future, I hope), I will have managed to tick everything off. When I look back over the last year of what we have achieved in the house and garden, I feel really pleased.

It's just on days like today that I feel the heavy burden of all those tasks and projects that are sitting waiting for me, calling to me to finish them and in most cases, start them!

And don't even get me started on all the craft projects that are waiting for me - some started, but many many still just hopes and dreams in my mind's eye!

A blissful child-free weekend

I haven't written a post for ages - I don't know where the last couple of weeks has gone! I seem to be busy all day yet achieve nothing! The dreaded wilfing has been in charge!

Anyway, I digress. Last weekend, I had a delightful weekend away with my best friend - 2 whole nights and almost 2 full days with no children or husbands! I have to say, it was utter bliss! This was the longest that I have ever been away from my two little darlings. I had a night away in Bath for my sister's 40th birthday do earlier in the year, but it was only 1 night and just over 24hrs, and so I didn't really fully relax and switch off from being "mummy". 2 nights however, definitely allowed me that luxury!

We went to Ludlow for the weekend. It was somewhere that neither my friend or I had ever been to, and as we are both history-lovers and there is a great, historic castle bang slap in the middle of Ludlow (where Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon went to live after they were married), as well as lots of little shops, restaurants, tea rooms etc, we thought it would be ideal for us. My other reason for wanting to visit Ludlow, was to go to the Clearview Stoves showroom. If you ever happen to be n Ludlow, it is well worth a visit, even if you're not interested in stoves! It is in a Georgian mansion - Dinham House, by the walls of the castle, where Napoleon's brother and family lived while in excile. The house is beautifully decorated in historic colours, with locally produced furniture and accessories dressing each room, as well as lots of the Clearview stoves on display and being demonstrated. It's like visiting a National Trust property that happens to have lots of woodburners dotted around! 

The weather was fantastic for our whole weekend - sunny, clear blue sky and 21 degrees both days. We had a little lie-in both mornings, before a lovely cooked breakfast in our hotel, and then a leisurely stroll into town. It was so nice not being tied to any schedule or fixed meal times, and having to only think about ourselves - no need to pack bags of snacks/drinks/wet wipes/coats/jumpers etc etc for the children. No whining or moaning about sore feet/being bored/thirsty/hungry/tired. No tantrums over wanting sweets/toys/snacks/whose turn it is for something. Just pure unadulterated mooching around, browsing the shops, stopping for lunch when we got peckish, stopping for a pimms or three when we got tired!

We came back on Sunday evening feeling truly refreshed. Both my friend and I are SAHMs - I have two boys, and she has two girls and a boy. We both rarely have time away from our children, so we both luxuriated in the freedom of being away from children and housework. We're hoping to make it an annual treat....have to see if the husbands are willing!

  And for once, I think the boys had actually missed me. They are so used to me always being there, that by Sunday afternoon they were starting to get concerned! Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder...